The upcoming Moto X will be available on all four major US carriers, but T-Mobile’s model will only be available through Motorola. That’s strange.
T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert told AllThingsD today, “We do not plan to stock Moto X devices immediately in our stores but are working closely with Motorola to make the Moto X a great experience for T-Mobile customers. Any news about distribution in our stores would come at a later date.”
So what if you want the Moto X from T-Mobile and you want it at launch? “The Moto X optimized for T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network will initially be available through Motorola’s channels,” Sievert said.
While AT&T and Sprint sent out press releases yesterday enthusiastically confirming support and availability for the Moto X, the word has been decidedly mum from T-Mobile and Verizon.
It’s possible that T-Mobile has decided to relinquish control due to Motorola’s myriad customization options for the phone. But considering AT&T has an exclusive on that at launch, it doesn’t seem likely.
It may also have something to do with the fact that T-Mobile no longer subsidizes the cost of its phones (though subscribers can pay them off over the course of 24 monthly installments). So far, Motorola has only said that the phone will be available for a retail price of $199 with a two-year agreement. It is still unclear how much the Moto X will cost T-Mobile customers. The full retail price of the handset at AT&T is $575 and $629, depending on the internal storage option.
This is reminiscent of the Nexus One, which was available for T-Mobile but had to be purchased directly through Google. But this isn’t a pattern, since the Nexus 4 is available to purchase on T-Mobile’s site right now.
Of course, you can also buy the phone for any of the other major carriers directly from Motorola, though AT&T is going so far as to offer a loaner phone for purchases made in-store while your customized Moto X is being assembled.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.